The disclosure of the following priority application is herein incorporated by reference: Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-391629 filed Dec. 25, 2001.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a moving member holding device and, more specifically, it relates to a moving member holding device that holds a moving member in a camera, such as an electronic flash unit which is mounted so as to be allowed to move relative to the camera main body, at a specific position.
2. Description of the Related Art
Mechanisms employed to set an electronic flash unit mounted at a camera main body in an operating state by popping it up from the storage position, i.e. the non-operating state, include, for instance, the mechanism disclosed in Japanese Laid Open Patent Publication No. H 10-39374.
FIG. 8 is a see-through view of a pop-up mechanism for an electronic flash unit utilized in the related art. A force is applied to the an electronic flash case 102 along the direction in which it is caused to rotate from the storage state to the operating state by a force-applying spring 110. In order to sustain the storage state against the force thus applied, a holding mechanism which includes a holding member 105 and an engaging member 108 is provided. By releasing the engagement between the holding member 105 and the engaging member 108 with a hold-release mechanism (not shown), the electronic flash unit can be popped up into the operating state.
Such a mechanism adopted in the related art poses a problem in that irregular mounting of mechanism parts and dimensional errors in various parts result in inconsistency in the clearance X between the front end of the electronic flash case 102 and the camera main body 101 in the storage state shown in FIG. 8 among individual cameras.
Accordingly, the mechanism in the related art disclosed in the publication includes a mechanism which adjusts the position at which the camera main body 101 and the electronic flash case 102 become engaged with each other.
FIG. 9 presents an exploded perspective of the adjustment mechanism unit in the camera shown in FIG. 8. A rotating operational shaft 111 having an eccentric cam 111b is joined through riveting with an operating member 109 so as to clamp the engaging member 108 and the electronic flash case 102 between them. The height at which the engaging member 108 is mounted at the electronic flash case 102 can be varied by rotating the rotating operational shaft 111 or the operating member 109. In this adjustment mechanism in the related art, the engaging member 108 is held at the adjusted height through the frictional forces generated at the contact surfaces where the engaging member 108 and the electronic flash case 102 come into contact with each other and the contact surfaces where the engaging member 108 and the operating member 109 come into contact with each other.
However, the mechanism that adjusts the height at which the electronic flash case 102 becomes engaged through a rotational operation of the rotating operational shaft 111 and does not include a system for preventing the rotation of the rotating operational shaft 111, and thus, if the rotating operational shaft 111 is allowed to rotate with the wrong timing for any reason, the adjusted height changes and the engaging member 108 cannot be held at the correct adjusted height.
In particular, since the direction along which the electronic flash case 102 is opened/closed and the direction along which the engaging member 108 is allowed to move in the adjustment mechanism match in the mechanism described above, a load is applied to the engaging member 108 along the direction in which it moves when the electronic flash case 102 is opened/closed due to the mechanical shock generated at the electronic flash unit along the direction in which the case is opened/closed. In addition, if the user of the camera inadvertently pulls up the electronic flash case 2 together with an electronic flash cover 104 along the direction (opening direction) in which the electronic flash unit is set in the operating state from the storage state, too, a load is applied to the engaging member 108 along the direction in which the electronic flash case is moved.
If a load applied to the engaging member 108 along its moving direction matches and exceeds the level of the frictional forces occurring at the contact surface of the engaging member 108 and the electronic flash case 102 and at the contact surface of the engaging member 108 and the operating member 109, the adjustment position of the engaging member 108 changes to form a larger clearance and the like.
While this problem may be addressed by, for instance, providing a rotation-preventing mechanism for preventing the rotation of the rotating operational shaft 111 attributable to an external force, the presence of such an additional mechanism requires more space, which is becoming more difficult to achieve in conjunction with an increasingly small electronic flash case, the miniaturization of which has been aggressively pursued together with the miniaturization of the camera main body in recent years. There are added problems in that the more complicated structure adopted in the mechanism requires a more complicated assembly process and in that adopting such a complicated mechanism leads to an increase in the production cost.
The present invention provides a moving member holding device that does not allow any external force to change the adjustment position once the engaging position has been adjusted and does not require a large number of components. Preferably it provides a holding device that holds a moving member in a camera.
A moving member holding device according to the present invention that holds at a first position a moving member that makes a movement between the first position and a second position relative to a fixed member, comprises: an engaging member provided at either the moving member or the fixed member and having an engaging portion; and a holding member provided at the moving member or the fixed member where the engaging member is not provided, which becomes engaged with the engaging portion of the engaging member to hold the moving member at the first position. And: a position of the engaging portion of the engaging member changes along a direction in which the moving member makes the movement as the engaging member moves; the first position at which the moving member is held is adjusted along the direction in which the moving member makes the movement as the position of the engaging portion changes; and a direction in which the engaging member moves and the direction of the movement of the moving member are different from each other.
In this moving member holding device, it is preferred that the direction in which the engaging member moves and the direction of the movement of the moving member are different from each other so that a force imparted to the engaging member along the direction of the movement of the moving member does not substantially act in the direction of movement of the engaging member.
Also, it is preferred that: the engaging member changes the position of the engaging portion by rotating around a rotational axis; and a direction along which the rotational axis of the engaging member extends and the direction of the movement of the moving member substantially match each other.
Also, it is preferred that: the engaging member changes the position of the engaging portion by making a parallel movement; and the direction of the parallel movement of the engaging member and the direction of the movement of the moving member are substantially perpendicular to each other.
Also, it is preferred that: the moving member is mounted with a specific device; the first position is a position at which the specific device is stored; and the second position is a position at which the specific device is operated.
Also, it is preferred that: there is further provided a force-applying member that applies a force to the moving member toward the second position; and the holding member holds the moving member at the first position against the force applied by the forced-applying member.
Also, it is preferred that: the engaging portion includes a plurality of engaging surfaces formed at positions varying along the direction of the movement of the moving member.
Also, it is preferred that: the engaging portion includes a sloping surface whose position changes along the direction of the movement of the moving member.
Also, it is preferred that: the engaging member is a member screwed into the moving member or the fixed member; and a position of the engaging portion of the engaging member is varied along the direction of the movement of the moving member by adjusting a screwing height of the engaging member.
Also, it is preferred that: there is further provided a movement-regulating member that regulates a movement of the engaging member so that the engaging member is not allowed to move unless a force exceeding a predetermined level is applied. In this case, it is preferred that: the movement-regulating member holds the engaging member so as to allow the engaging member to move relative to the moving member or the fixed member.
A moving member holding device according to the present invention that holds at a storage position a moving member which makes a movement between the storage position and an operating position relative to a fixed member, comprises: a force-applying member that applies a force to the moving member toward the operating position; an engaging member provided at either the moving member or the fixed member and having an engaging portion; and a holding member provided at either the moving member or the fixed member where the engaging member is not provided, which becomes engaged with the engaging portion of the engaging member to hold the moving member at the storage position against the force imparted by the forced-applying member. And: the engaging portion includes a plurality of engaging surfaces formed at positions varying along a direction of the movement of the moving member; the engaging member varies a position at which the engaging portion becomes engaged with the holding member by selecting one of the plurality of engaging surfaces through a rotational movement around a rotational axis thereof; the storage position at which the moving member is held is adjusted along the direction of the movement of the moving member by changing the position of the engaging portion; and a direction along which the rotational axis of the engaging member extends and the direction of the movement of the moving member substantially match each other.
A moving member holding device in a camera according to the present invention that holds at a first position a moving member which makes a movement between the first position and a second position relative to a fixed member, comprises: an engaging member provided at either the moving member or the fixed member and having an engaging portion; and a holding member provided at either the moving member or the fixed member where the engaging member is not provided, which becomes engaged with the engaging portion of the engaging member to hold the moving member at the first position. And: a position of the engaging portion of the engaging member changes as the engaging member moves; the first position at which the moving member is held is adjusted through a change of the position of the engaging portion; and a direction in which the engaging member moves and a direction of the movement of the moving member are different from each other.
In this moving member holding device in a camera, it is preferred that: the fixed member is a camera main body; the moving member is mounted with a flash light emitting unit that illuminates a subject; the first position is a position at which the flash light emitting unit is stored in the camera main body; and the second position is a position at which the flash light emitting unit is popped up and operated. In this case, it is preferred that: the engaging member is provided at the moving member; and the engaging member becomes exposed so that the engaging member can be moved from an outside to enable an adjustment of the first position when the moving member is popped up to the second position.
Also, it is preferred that: the engaging member is provided either at the moving member or the fixed member so that the engaging member can be moved for an adjustment of the first position from an outside even when a camera manufacturing process is completed.